Rumor: Apple to Introduce 11.6-Inch MacBook Next Week

The next MacBook Air will be smaller, faster and cheaper than its predecessor, and we could hear about it as soon as next week, according to a rumor posted by AppleInsider.

Sources told blog AppleInsider that Apple is preparing to launch a redesigned MacBook Air with an 11.6-inch display — down from the current 13.3-inch model — equipped with a miniature solid state drive “card” that resembles a stick of RAM rather than a traditional hard drive.

AppleInsider speculates that the usage of flash storage will enable extremely fast boot times and “instant-on” capabilities while driving down production costs.

Apple introduced the MacBook Air in January 2008 during a Macworld Expo event. The ultrathin subnotebook cost $1,800 at launch; Apple in 2009 dropped the price to $1,500.

AppleInsider’s report comes in line with claims previously made by DigiTimes, which said Apple was manufacturing 11.6-inch MacBooks in late September.